About the Composer

About Edward Barnes, the Composer of Family Audience Opera

EDWARD BARNESis the award-winning composer/librettist of 15 operas, including the 7 children's operas featured on Family Audience Opera's website. His work has been produced by companies both nationally and internationally, including the Los Angeles Opera, Lincoln Center Theater Company, San Diego Opera, Minnesota Opera, Williamstown Theater Festival, Michigan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, L.A. Theater Center, American Repertory Theater, Mark Taper Forum, Prince Musical Theater, George Street Playhouse, Children's Theater Company of Minneapolis, Opera Company of the Philippines, Opera Company of Boston, and many more. The winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Stephen Sondheim award for "outstanding talent in creating innovative musical theater", he was for many years a resident artist at the Los Angeles Opera, where his "A Place To Call Home", "Mystery On The Docks"and "A Muskrat Lullaby" all premiered. While living in Los Angeles, he helped found The Metro Ensemble, a new musical theater group, for whom he wrote "The Vagabond Queen", "Old Aunt Dinah's Sure Guide To Dreams & Lucky Numbers" and "The Bones of Love".

Now residing in New York City, Edward's recent projects have included songs for a singing robot bird for Sequoia Live Animation, musical scores for "Our Town" at Bay Street Theater, "Kilt" at the Directors Company, and a collaboration with Garrison Keillor, "The Old Man Who Loved Cheese". Edward is also the producer of numerous musical/theatrical events, including the recent sold-out concert by the Collegiate Chorale of Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie's opera, "The Grapes of Wrath"at Carnegie Hall, starring Jane Fonda, Nathan Gunn, Victoria Clark and Christine Ebersole. Other productions he's produced include Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin's operetta, "The Firebrand of Florence"at Lincoln Center, Leonard Bernstein and Alan Jay Lerner's "A White House Cantata"at Jazz @ Lincoln Center, several radio series for XM Satellite Radio, and the play "Superior Donuts"on Broadway. He is currently at work on a new opera/musical-theater work called "Hex".